Is There Anybody Out There?
by ShadowChocobo
Summary: It's been a year since the defeat of Sephiroth, and Tifa is running a bar in Midgar...that is, until an someone shows up in the middle of the night. Now it's up to her and the rest of the old gang to find Cloud, before someone else gets to him first.


Chapter One: Unexpected Visitor

Mist stealthily cloaked Midgar in a greyish haze, blocking out the night sky and forming twisted shapes in the shadows of spirits and monsters out of the corner of the eye, only to dissapear on closer inspection. A chill settled through the city that had just barely started to get back on it's feet after a year of rebuilding. The few street lamps there where lit up tried in vain to lift the gloom, only to be suffocated in a blanket of fog.

All this Tifa Lockheart watched through the front window of her newly re-opened bar, The Seventh Heaven, as she cleaned up after a fairly busy day. _It's a bit too early for it to start getting this cold..._ She thought as she looked out at into the night once more, glad that she didn't have to brave the streets to get home. That was one of the upsides of living where you worked. 

She moved back behind the bar wearily and grabbed the nearest bottle of liquor she could find. However, as she turned her back, she distinctly heard the door open and someone enter the bar. _Damn. I forgot to lock the door._ She sighed inwardly.

"Sorry, but we're closed. Come back tomorrow." She said without turning around.

Whoever had come in didn't move.

"Look, I've had a long day, and--" She began, turning around to face the intruder, but she stopped promptly and stared at the person standing in front of her, the bottle slipping out of her hand and shattering on the floor with a resounding crash.

"Don't tell me you've started drinking Tifa." Cloud said with a playful frown.

Tifa just glared at him. He had left after they defeated Sephiroth a year ago, without a word, and she hadn't seen him since. Even after all she had done for him, he couldn't be bothered to spare her a lousy goodbye. "What would you care?" She spat back venomously, grabbing a towel and cleaning up the remnants of the liqour bottle, trying to ignore him.

"Tifa..." He started, but trailed off as Tifa straightened up and threw the towel into a garbage can with enough force to send it toppling over. 

"Do you know how worried I was about you?" She said, fixing him with a vehement glare, her voice deathly calm. "You just ran off without a word to any of us. For all I knew, you could have thrown yourself off of the edge of the great glacier."

"...I shouldn't have come here..." Cloud said quietly. Tifa snorted and turned her back on him coldly.

"...It's just...I thought I should tell you...I'm going away. And I don't know if I'm coming back. Something's come up...I think I'm the only one who can take care of it." Cloud tried again. Tifa remained with her back stubbornly to him. Cloud sighed and Tifa could hear his boots clicking on the floor as he exited the bar.

"I'm sorry." She heard him say before the door snapped shut.

After Tifa was sure he was gone she turned around, and to her suprise saw something on the counter. She took a step closer and saw it was a silver wolf ring, done in great detail. She picked it up and stared at it a moment, then walked to the door and opened it, peering outside dispite the cold. She couldn't see anything two feet in front of her due to the fog. She slowly withdrew back into the shop and sat down on the barstool behind the counter, turning the ring over in her hands.

_"I'm sorry."_

She dropped the ring and buried her face in her hands, a strangled sob escaping her throat.

The next day rolled around in the usual fashion. The sun was shining brightly, and no trace of the chill of the night remained. Tifa had long since composed herself, and now sat behind the counter, waiting boredly for someone to come into the bar. In fact, she desperately wanted someone to come in, if it would distract her for a few moments. As she drummed her fingers on the counter absently, she glanced at her right hand, watching as the wolf ring caught the light and sparked, almost making it seem alive.

She had put it on almost subconsciously, and now as she stared at it, she felt a sudden loathing for it, as if it were the cause of all her problems. It reminded her of _him. _That bastard. If he ever showed his face around here again...she trailed off, smirking with grim pleasure at the thoughts of kicking the insensitive man's ass.

Her dark thoughts were interrupted by the creak of the door opening, and she looked up to see a trio of people tromping into the bar confidently. A very _familiar_ trio.

Tifa glared at the Turks as the pulled up stools at the counter, as if they didn't even recognize her. After a long silence, she finally said "To what do I owe the...pleasure...of having the dogs of Shinra pay me a visit?"

"Aw, come on, it's been a while since we were concerned with you and your gaggle of terrorists, Barbie." Reno said wearily, running a hand through his hair and looking more ragged then Tifa could ever remember seeing him. Nevertheless, he managed to shoot her his trademark wolfish smile. "Naw, we just want a drink. Right Rude? 'Laney?" He asked his companions. Rude grunted in reply, and Elena shrugged.

Tifa carefully ignored Reno's comment and took a good look at the other Turks. Elena looked...terrible. Her normally perfect blonde hair looked like birds were trying to nest in it, and it was sticking up in odd places. Her skin was pale and she looked like she was about to drop off the bar stool. Rude hardly looked any different, except a slight droop about him.

"What's the matter with you two? Lighten up a little!" Reno said coolly, leaning forward and squinting at the menu that hung behind Tifa.

"Reno. Please. Just ask her so we can get out of her and stay at an inn or something." Elena said wearily. Reno shot her a glare, obviously annoyed, then looked around, slightly taken aback.

"Hey, where did the tag-along run off to?" He asked, quickly changing the subject as Tifa's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"The ninja kid?" Rude growled, his voice grating slightly, as if he didn't want to talk the person in question.

"Yeah. I coulda sworn she was right behind us when we came in." Reno replied.

Just as Tifa opened her mouth to ask if they were talking about who she thought they were talking about, they door opened once more, nearly slamming into the wall as Yuffie bounced into the bar, hopping onto a stool and chirping out a cheerful "Hey Tifa!" before turning to Reno and saying "Have you asked her where Cloud is yet?"

As Tifa visibly bristled behind the counter, Reno stared at Yuffie, dumbfounded. "Why would you just suddenly blurt that out? Are you brain dead or something? Good _God,_ kid."

"Well I was just--" Yuffie began, before she was cut off by the infuriated Tifa.

"I'm going to make this really easy for you. I haven't seen him since a year ago, the man walked out on all of us in Avalanche, as I'm sure Yuffie has informed you. None of us have a clue where he is. That's all I know." Tifa snapped, a dangerous edge to her voice.

"Aw, he just walked out on you? Tough love, eh Barbie?" Reno asked, looking quite agitated that he hadn't learned anything new.

Tifa glared at him over the bar, then got up and pointed at the door (which Yuffie had left wide open). "Get out. Now. I have nothing to tell people who make a living by kidnapping, bribing, stalking, and murdering."

"Thanks sweetie. That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in a while." Reno said smoothly, shooting he a grin and standing up. "Come on guys, let's get out of here." With that the other Turks stood up and followed Reno out the door. Yuffie got up to follow, but Tifa caught her arm and turned her around to face her, looking livid.

"What the _hell_ are you doing running around with the _Turks_!" She asked.

"Relax Tifa! They were just asking around to see if anyone knew where Cloud was, so I thought I'd come along, you know, since my skills would obviously be needed in such an undertaking." She said proudly, puffing up. "Besides, I can make sure they don't pull anything."

"Yuffie. These are the Turks. You can't monitor the Turks." Tifa warned.

"What? Are you saying I'm not as good as them?" Yuffie sulked, yanking her arm out of Tifa's grasp.

"No. I'm just telling you to be careful if you're going to be tagging along after them." Tifa sighed.

"Well I can take care of myself!" Yuffie snapped, hopping off of the stool and bouncing over to the door. "See ya around!"

"Hey, wait Yuffie! Do you know why they're looking for Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"Not a clue!" Yuffie replied with a grin before exiting the bar, the door snapping shut behind her.

It was silent once more.

Tifa stared at the door where Yuffie had been standing just a moment ago, thoughtful. As if suddenly making up her mind, she dashed upstairs and grabbed her PHS.

If the Turks could hunt for Cloud, so could Avalanche.


End file.
